Gun-carriage shield and in the embrasures of casemates.



.P. PERRONE. V GUN CARRIAGE SHIELD AND IN THE EMBRASURES OF CASEMATESAPPLICATION FILED JUNE 5, I9I4.

1,213,247. Patented Jan. 23,1917.

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WITNESSES INYENTOR I L/ I II ATTORNEY P.PERR0NE. GUN CARRIAGE SHIELD ANDIN THE EMBRASURES 0F CASEMATES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1914.

1,21 3,247. Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

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PIO PERRONE, OF ROME, ITALY, ASSIGN'OR T0 SOCIETA ANONIMA ITALIANA GIO,ANSAL'DO & 0., OF GENOA, ITALY.

GUN-CARRIAGE SHIELD AND IN THE EMBRASURIHS 0F CASEMA'IES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

Application filedJune 6, 1914. Serial No. 843,443.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, P10 Pnnnonn, a sub jectof the King of Italy, residing at Rome, Italy, ship-builder, (whosepost-oifice address is No. 366 Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy,) haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Gun-Carriage Shields andin the Embrasures of Casemates, of which the following is aspecification.

It is a well known expedient to protect guns mounted on carriages incasemates by means of a cylindrical armored shield projecting from thearmored side of a ship or fortification through the embrasure providedfor this purpose. The armored shield is constituted by armor platingattached to the gun carriage either directly or through the medium of ashield of iron or steel plating by means of connections having a certaindegree of elasticity, which will allow the movable armor plating onbeing struck by a projectile, to move back to a certain extentrelatively to the said iron or steel plating and relatively to the guncarriage. In the known arrangements of that kind, this displacement ofthe armored shield is limited only by the resistance of the elasticconnections so that the impact or the repeated impacts of the enemysprojectiles are liable to cause the destruction of the iron or steelplating and of the gun carriage by driving the armored shield throughthe embrasure into the casemate, with the further risk of the embrasurebecoming entirely unprotected and thus allowing free access to theenemys projectiles. I

Now the above drawbacks are avoided by the present invention whichconsists in a peculiar construction of the armored shield and of theembrasure wherein the said shield can be displaced. According to thisinvention the embrasure and the armored shield are with this object,madewith such profiles that any considerable displacement of the shielddue to the impact of a projectile has the result of causing the shieldeither to be arrested in the embrasure or to bear against edges,abutments or shoulders of the embrasure. In other words, the walls ofthe embrasure, instead of forming merely a clear passage for the shieldas at present, form according to this invention an abutment or a meansof engagement for the shield, which will prevent all excessive inwarddisplacement of the shield due to external impact or shock.

Various constructional forms of this invention are illustrated by way ofexample in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a diagrammaticvertical section of the embrasure of a casemate and of a gun carriageshield capable of being displaced in the embrasure, both the embrasureand the shield having the profiles hitherto usually employed. Figs. 2and 3 are respectively a vertical section and a sectional plan, on theaxis of the embrasure, of an embrasure in a fixed armored casemate andof a movable armored shield constructed according to this invention.Fig. 4 is a partial vertical section showing the armored shield arrestedat its innermost limit of displacement. Figs. 5 and 6 show respectivelyin the normal position and in the innermost position of displacementanother construction of an armored shield of peculiar profile and of thecorresponding embrasure of the fixed casemate. Fig. 7 is a partialvertical section of a third construction according to this invention.Fig. 8 is a partial vertical section of a fourth construction accordingto this invention.

As shown in Fig. 1, the embrasure formed in the fixed armor a has ahorizontal upper surface a and a horizontal lower surface -a so that themovable armored shield b can pass freely through the embrasure. Thisfreedom of movement applies not only to the movements of the armoredshield b with the iron or steel shield 0 and the gun carriage to whichthe armored shield is attached by elastic connections -d-, but also toall horizontal displacements relatively to the casemate which are due tothe effect of impact from the outside. The surfaces b and W of themovable armored shield have corresponding profiles.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4 the embrasure of the fixed casemate armor-w-- has an upper surface -a inclined from the outside inwardly anddownwardly. Its lower surface a is inclined in the reverse direction,that is, inwardly and upwardly. The surfaces -b and b of the movablearmored shield bhave likewise peculiar profiles which are respectivelysimilar to those of the corresponding surfaces of the fixed casemate. Itwill be readily understood (as shown in Fig. 4) that these peculiarprofiles allow the movable shield b to be displaced horizontally only toa limited extent e In all cases the fixed armor is caused to take thewhole excessive stress due to an impact from the outside, so that themovable shield is prevented from becoming displaced toward the inside ofthe casemate to an extent suhicient to uncover the embrasure and allowfree access to the projectiles of the enemy.

In the construction shown in Figs. 5 and 6 the embrasure of the fixedcasemate armor has at its upper surface a rabbet or shoulder a thevertical outer side of which forms an abutmentfor the vertical innerside of a corresponding rabbet or shoulder b of the movable shield.

In the construction shown in Fig. 7, a groove or mortise -ais providedin the upper and lower surface of the embrasure to form a guide for atenon Z)*- of less width projecting from the movable shield.

In the construction shown in Fig. 8 the embrasure Of the fiXGCl casemateELIDJOI -(Z i has an upper outer supporting edge a and a lower outersupporting edge --a?. The movable armored shield b is attached to theiron or steel shield c by elastic connections cZ. The embrasure of thecasemate has horizontal upper and lower surfaces. The upper and lowersupporting surfaces a and a of the casemate armor aform abutmentsagainst which the movable armored shield b will abut and by which itwill be arrested in its inward displacement.

The forms of the supporting or arresting abutments provided on the fixedcasemate armor for cooperating with corresponding surfaces orprojections of the movable armored shield may vary, solong as they allownormally a free passage of the movable armored shield up to, and arrestits hori zontal inward displacement at a determined limit.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my saidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare thatwhat I claim is 1. A gun casemate comprising a fixed ar mor having anembrasure, a gun carriage internally of the fixed armor, a shieldpartially closing and in spaced relation to the embrasure, a resilient.connection between the gun carriage and the shield, the edges of thecasemate and of the shield being formed to engage each other after alimited amount of backward movement of the shield.

2. A gun casemate comprising a fixed armor having an embrasure, a guncarriage internally of the embrasure, a shield partially closing theembrasure and spaced away therefrom so as to be capable of backwardmovement, resilient arms upon the gun carriage for supporting the shieldand permitting of its backward movement under excessive pressure andmeans for limiting the extent of backward movement of the shield.

3. A gun casemate comprising a fixed armor having an arcuate portionwith a rectangular embrasure, a gun carriage movable about an axis atthe point from which the arc is struck, an arcuate armored shieldpartially closing the embrasure and also movable along said embrasureabout said axis of the gun carriage in spaced relation to the fixedarmor and resilient connecting means between the gun carriage and theshield, the edges of the fixed and movable armor being so shaped as toarrest inward movement of the movable armor against the resistance ofthe resilient connecting means.

4. The combination with a gun carriage of an arcuate armored shieldconcentric with the axis of the carriage, resilient means for mountingthe shield upon the carriage and a casement having an arcuate portionpositioned relatively to the shield to permit backward movement thereofand to limit the extent of said movement.

5. A gun casemate comprising a fixed armor, an embrasure in the casemateof greater external than internal width, a gun carriage internally ofthe fixed armor, a shield having a greater external than internal width,resilient means connecting the gun carriage to the shield and supportingsame in spaced relation to the casemate embrasure and to permit theshield to abut against said caseniate embrasure under ex cessiveexternal pressure.

6. A gun casemate comprising a fixed armor, an outwardly divergentembrasure in the casemate, a gun carriage internally of the casemate, ashield having outwardly divergent edges and of smaller general widththan the embrasure, a gun carriage internally of the embrasure,resilient means connecting the gun carriage to the shield and supportingsame in the casemate embrasure to permit of its abutting against theembrasure under excessive external pressure.

7; A gun casemate having an arcuate embrasure, an arcuate armored shieldpartially closing the embrasure, a gun carriage movable about a.vertical axis coinciding with the center from which the arcuate em- Intestimony whereof I have signed my brasure and shield are struck,resilient name to this specification in presence of two 19 means forsupporting the aripored shield subscribing witnesses.

upon the gun carriage and or resistin backward movement of the shieldand mean PIO PERRONE' upon the casemate for positively resistingWVitnesses:

backward movement of the armored shield G. B. ZANARDO,

after the operation of the resilient means. GIASON S. BIZSARRI.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of ratentl, Washington, D. 0.

